Val Lee's Writings

FITSNews || Kindergarten and elementary schools students at Veterans Memorial Elementary in Provincetown, Massachusetts will be able to receive free condoms from the school nurse this year – without their parents’ knowledge.

He wants a balanced budget. God declares, we are not to owe any man. A balanced budge is necessary. These teachers still maintain a well-paying job. Many in the state are unemployed; yet, they are not screaming.

This all comes down to entitlement. After years of getting stuff for free, and being told by the union heads that they deserve it…and government employees now believe it.

…Union head Richard Trumka accusing Walker of “assaulting” the middle class…(talk about your violent political rhetoric) is that under Walker’s plan does not take everything away from teachers and other government employees and kick them to the curb. Not by a long shot.

Under Walker’s plan, government employees (policemen and firefighters excluded) would have to pay half—half!—of their pension costs. This truly is outraging, since most people pay 0 percent of their nonexistent pension costs.

They have nothing to complain about. Their uproar is crazy! “average teacher salary (in the upper $40,000s). Further, over the last ten years or so, the average teacher’s salary has increased by over 20 percent. Teachers in Wisconsin simply are not oppressed.

…Much of the uproar boils down to Walker’s proposal to require a pay-in for pension and health benefits. He would also look to remove collective bargaining power (but not for salary) from many of the public-sector professions.

Walker says these step would go a long way toward balancing the budget; the unions and public employees say it’s an assault on their rights.

When did a free pension become a right? Pensions have pretty much gone the way of the dodo in nearly every other industry and profession, except for government employees. And, not to be overlooked, government employees would still retain their pensions, but they would have to contribute towards the funds…which, sounds pretty reasonable, not to mention what everybody else has to do in anticipation of retirement.

But teachers and other government employees have been lapping up the scraps of the government’s lavish feast for years, and they’ve acquired a taste for it. For the past two days, hundreds of teachers have skipped school to protest, resulting in the closing of many schools across the state. Great news for the kids, but terrible news for those who, you know, value education.

This all comes down to entitlement. After years of getting stuff for free, and being told by the union heads that they deserve it…and government employees now believe it.

What’s being somewhat lost among the tumult (including President Obama accusing Gov. Walker of “assaulting” unions), and AFL-CIO union head Richard Trumka accusing Walker of “assaulting” the middle class…talk about your violent political rhetoric.

Further, they would have to pay 12 percent of their health care costs. Welcome to the real world, guys. Besides, it’s still less than what most privately employed people pay.

Finally, government employees would retain their collective bargaining power for matters of salary. Now teachers wouldn’t get to gripe and sniffle and go on strike over how many free periods they get, but they could still go on strike over their salary.

It’s clear that years of outlandish benefits due to ridiculously free government spending combined with union power has instilled a sense of entitlement. The threat of reducing (not even eliminating) these outlandish perks has caused an uproar and a government standstill.

It’s a small picture of what’s to come if our government continues along this course (and judging from Wisconsin Democrats actually leaving the state and the president’s support of the unions, there’s a real good chance it will continue).

It sounds nice to give everybody all sorts of things, but after a time it becomes financially impossible (we’re well past that by the way), and people don’t like it when their stuff gets taken away from them (even if that stuff was outlandish and undeserved and free).

It’s a reversal of the American dream. Instead of getting on top through hard work and determination, we’re becoming a nation that values whining for entitlements and handouts, and calling them “rights.”

_______

My Views on Education:

I have to ask, why should every taxpayer support government schools? There are those of us who do not want them. I wish, not one dollar went to government schools from what I have personally experienced. If parents want their children in public schools then those parents should pay the teachers personally. You can well bet if parents were to pay teachers by personal checks (be the bosses they should be allowed to be), the majority are going to make sure their children are being taught the basics and morals. We also know, parental fees would be far lower without government middlemen.

Regarding the lack of moral teaching, the sad current truth is, any student can get condoms from public school nurses in senior high schools without parent consent. The student age of acquiring is continually lowering, thanks to Planned Parenthood. The NEA, Planned Parenthood and many educators do not promote chaperone dating. They have no interest in ensuring youth are dating under the supervision of upright moral people who do not believe in premarital sex. If this were the case, Planned Parenthood would dwindle in fame.